Predictions...

Well, I haven't written anything since March on here, and it's 7:16 on the morning of the NHL's first games. In less than 5 hours, the puck will drop in Helsinki between two great teams - Derek Boogaard's former team (the Minnesota Wild) and Bobby Sanguenetti's current team (the Carolina Hurricanes, and yes, he made the NHL team).

Predictions - the best and worst part of October. Everyone is normally wrong, but they're fun to debate anyway. So, here we go...

Eastern Conference
1. Washington Capitals
2. New Jersey Devils
3. Toronto Maple Leafs
4. Pittsburgh Penguins
5. Buffalo Sabres
6. NY Rangers
7. Tampa Bay Lightning
8. Philadelphia Flyers
9. Atlanta Thrashers
10. Boston Bruins
11. NY Islanders
12. Carolina Hurricanes
13. Florida Panthers
14. Ottawa Senators
15. Montreal Canadiens

Notes: The Rangers missed the playoffs by 1 point yet improved a lot over the offseason. They got a better backup goalie than they had (Martin Biron is in fact better than any combination of Chad Johnson and Matt Zaba and Steve Valiquette) and Alex Frolov is going to add much more offense than Aaron Voros.

Tampa Bay has a great forward line up including Lecavilier, Stamkos, St. Louis, Ryan Malone, and Steve Downie. With Victor Hedman and Mattias Ohlund on the blue line and competent goaltending in Dan Ellis and Mike Smith, they should take make the playoffs, edging out a much improved Chicago Blackha err, Atlanta Thrashers team.

In the Northeast, I can't see an aging Ottawa team with questionable goaltending making the playoffs again. Yes, Sergei Gonchar is good, but I think he'll fall apart without Crosby and Malkin on the same PP unit. And Toronto might be unstoppable. The best defense in the NHL (Beauchemin, Kaberle, Komisarek, Lebda, Phaneuf, Schenn), solid goaltending (Giguere, Gustavsson), and a much improved offense featuring Colby Armstrong, Kris Versteeg, and a healthy Phil Kessel. The Leafs... will... be... very... good.

And I don't think Florida will - or should - ever make the playoffs again. Send that stupid team to Canada already!

Western Conference
1. Vancouver Canucks
2. San Jose Sharks
3. Detroit Red Wings
4. Chicago Blackhawks
5. Phoenix Coyotes
6. Los Angeles Kings
7. Colorado Avalance
8. St. Louis Blues
9. Nashville Predators
10. Edmonton Oilers
11. Calgary Flames
12. Columbus Blue Jackets
13. Anaheim Ducks
14. Minnesota Wild
15. Dallas Stars

Notes: Vancouver should win the division because they have the best goaltending of the top contenders. I mean, I guess Chicago would (with Marty Turco) if I were writing predictions for 2003-04. With Raffi Torres, Manny Malhotra, and Dan Hamhuis, the Canucks improved under-the-radar, but all 3 are great additions.

I think the East is a lot stronger this year. The top 5 teams in the West are good, but all have their flaws. Is Detroit getting too old (and Mike Modano is not an injection of youth)? Does San Jose, LA, or Chicago have the goaltending?

Does LA have the offense? They'll need better years from Dustin Brown and Ryan Smyth and a breakout year from Wayne Simmonds. Alex Ponikarovsky replaces Frolov, but can he?

Edmonton, while not a playoff team yet, is building something with Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, and Magnus Paajarvi. Tom Renney will be great there.

Anaheim must be content being middle-of-the-road. All they did was sign 3 marginally good defenseman (Paul Mara, who I love; Toni Lydman; and Andy Sutton, whose best years are far behind him). Dallas, the same (whose less bad, Kari Lehtonen or Andrew Raycroft?).

Playoffs
Washinton vs. Pittsburgh in the East
Canucks vs. Sharks in the West

Washington vs. Vancouver in the Finals
Washington winning

I know it's cheesy to pick your Conference Winners to play each other in the Finals, but that's why I picked them both #1 I guess. To be honest, I can completely see Vancouver stumbling in the playoffs, but they do have a very good team, and when Alex Burrows is back from injury in early-November, they'll be even better.

Enjoy the season, ladies & gentleman. Here's hoping the Islanders and Rangers both improve, both over last season and from the beginning of this one to the end.

Hart Trophy: Ilya Kovalchuk, NJ
Conn Smythe: Alex Ovechkin, WAS
Norris Trophy: Drew Doughty, LA
Vezina Trophy: Ryan Miller, Roberto Luongo, or Henrik Lundqvist (oh, hell, Martin Brodeur is probably going to be given it anyway)

NYR Top Post-Lockout Moments #20-16

This is my personal favorite moments from Ranger games starting in the 2005-06 season. It only includes NHL moments (for example, it doesn’t have Henrik Lundqvist winning the Gold Medal in the ’06 Olympics) and it doesn’t include bad memories (for example, Game 5 vs. Buffalo, or Jaromir Jagr and Lundqvist coming back hurt from the Olympics, or Jagr throwing a punch at Scott Gomez).

20) Three Goals in Ninety Seconds
Madison Square Garden - November 14, 2006
As a rule of thumb, I never like to go to Ranger-Devil games at MSG. I don't know if it's the Devils' fans or the fact that I've seen some real stinkers, but they just don't appeal to me. So, on this day, I sold my friend my tickets to an early season game between the Hudson River Rivals.

This seemed like a great decision after 2 lifeless periods, and that's when everything got great. Jaromir Jagr scored just over two minutes into the 3rd period, and then, 26 seconds later, Jagr's puck went high and somehow floated over Martin Brodeur's head and into the net. A minute and 4 seconds later, Brendan Shanahan wristed one in the net to make it a 3-2 game, in a game the Rangers trailed 2-0 90 seconds earlier.

The icing on the cake? Marcel Hossa's two assists.

On the way home from work that night, I was listening to talk radio, and a called said it was "the single greatest regular season game I have ever witnessed in person." I texted my friend, and all he replied was, "I concur."

19) Strong Comebacks Against Canadian Teams
MSG - January 11, 2007
Kevin Weekes gave up 4 goals in 32 minutes and Lundqvist gave up an early 3rd period goal as Ottawa built a 5-0 lead on the Rangers. Half of the Garden left at this point, but the Rangers mounted a big comeback. Petr Prucha, Jay Ward, and Marcel Hossa scored within 3 minutes of each other and Blair Betts scored 4 minutes after that to bring the Rangers to within a goal. Jed Ortmeyer’s two assists were his first points since coming back from a pulmonary embolism, and he got a standing ovation both times his name was announced.

The Rangers kept pressing, and might have tied the game if not for a bad call by Mike Hasenfratz. The Senators flipped the puck over the glass in their own end, which should have been a penalty, but the referees didn’t call it, even though replays on the big screen proved that it went out while still in the zone. Brendan Shanahan refused to leave the zone, arguing that it should be a penalty, nearly getting a penalty of his own. The Rangers were then forced to pull Lundqvist, ending in a Dany Heatley empty-netter which sealed a 6-4 win for the Senators.

This was also Weekes’ last game in a Ranger uniform, as he hurt his leg in practice the next day and Steve Valiquette replaced him.

Montreal - February 3, 2008
The only game on Super Bowl Sunday (when the Giants beat the Patriots), the Canadiens jumped out to a 3-0 lead on a Sergei Kostitsyn penalty shot, but then the Rangers roared back. They scored 3 goals in 7 minutes in the second to tie it at 3, then Chris Drury and Martin Straka scored in the 3rd to complete a great comeback in front of a stunned La Centre Bell crowd. It was the 3rd straight win for the middling Rangers, who would soon go on a 10-0-3 run to make the playoffs.

18) Dom Moore Scores Against Roberto Luongo
Sunrise, Florida - November 9, 2005
The Rangers were losing to the Panthers 3-2 with three seconds left in the 3rd period. Dominic Moore was behind the net and saw an opening between Roberto Luongo’s pad and the post, so he aimed for it, hoping it would bank off of his leg and into the net - and it did. In the postgame interviews, he said that he knew time was winding down and had no other choices, so he whipped it towards the net and hoped for what eventually happened.

Petr Prucha wound up scoring the only shootout goal for the Rangers, and they won, 4-3.

17) Sean Avery Night
MSG - January 6, 2010
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, nothing makes me happier than when Sean Avery scores. This year, there haven’t been too many of those moments - in fact, until this game, he had only scored 4 goals and they came in 2 games.

He was like a man-possessed on this Wednesday night in New York City, playing his former teammates. He scored to tie the game at 1-1, then had the primary assist on the next 3 goals as the Rangers jumped to a 4-2 lead and eventually won 5-2 on an empty netter.

He was hitting, shooting, getting under the skin of the team, and even undressing a defenseman with spin-o-ramas.

In short, this was Sean Avery’s night, and it was the way he should play every game.



16) Gomez Traded for Gaborik
June 30 - July 1, 2007
If I had asked any Ranger fan if they would have traded Scott Gomez straight-up for Marian Gaborik, do you think they would have said, “No, I’m happy with Gomez.” Well, in essence, that’s what the Rangers did. They traded nearly identical contracts (5 years, $7M+) and came up on the winning end of the deal.

Of course, it wasn’t an actual trade, but on the eve of the start of free agency, the Rangers traded Scott Gomez to Montreal for Chris Higgins and prospect Ryan McDonagh. With the cap-space now free, the Rangers didn’t trade for Dany Heatley and instead signed Gaborik to a five-year deal.

Another reason this trade was great was that Montreal was interested in Gaborik, but with Gomez’s contract now on their hands, they couldn’t even make a run at him.

It was risky for the Rangers: What if Gaborik signed elsewhere, who would the Rangers go for? What if they signed him and he got hurt?

But so far, it has worked out. He’s young, he’s fast, he’s immensely talented, and he isn’t afraid to stick up for himself. And he’s a great player to build around.

Beating the Weaker Teams...

What was refreshing (I hate that word) about tonight's 4-1 Rangers' victory over Toronto was the fact that the Maple Leafs are a weaker team.

I know what you're thinking, and you're right - a good team should always beat a weaker team.

The Rangers have had a horrible problem with losing to teams below them in the standings. It didn't matter what the numbers on the back of the jersey were - whether they were 2, 9, and 11 or 68, 82, and 92, or 35 or 30. They would always play pretty tightly against better teams. They had good records against New Jersey and the Penguins, and they would keep up with Detroit (although they are 0-3 vs. the Wings since the lockout), yet they would give up 2 goals leads against Atlanta and they'd lose to Chicago when the Hawks had 5,000 fans in the crowd.

And tonight's game was setting up for a fall. A 6-game winning streak; a team they just beat 7-2; a road game after a few days off; the opponents were looking for their first win of the season; and a nationally televised game in Canada where the refs might've called a lot of bogus penalties against the Rangers. In previous seasons, this would be a game they would be up 2-0, then disappointingly lose 4-2.

(To be fair, the referees called a good game although I would've liked to have seen Jason Blake get a penalty for running into Henrik Lundqvist on his breakaway.)

Is this team different? Very. Marian Gaborik and Vinny Prospal don't quit; Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan aren't intermittently good like last year (ok, Callahan played hard every shift last year but Dubinsky disappeared for weeks at a time); Chris Drury isn't relied upon for offense so he can be a "behind-the-scenes" type player (killing penalties, blocking shots, etc.).

Yet there are 3 huge differences in this year's team...
1) The defense moves the puck and shoots. Most "SHOOOOOT" shouts from the Garden crowd should be silenced this year. Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival aren't passing up shots or missing the net as much since Mike Del Zotto and Matt Gilroy are passing and shooting on the power play. Hell, Dan Girardi had a two-goal game.

2) John Giannone said tonight that the Rangers lead the league in power play chances. Of course, they've played 8 games now (no team has played more than 8; a few have played as little as 5 or 6), but they're also fast and hard-charging, which makes opponents more likely to hook, slash, grab and pull in order to get back into the play.

Think about it: Marek Malik used to take tons of penalties because he was slow. He would get beat, turn around, and have to grab a jersey or use his stick for leverage, gaining nothing but 2 minutes in the penalty box.

Now, you have Enver Lisin, Artem Anisimov, Sean Avery, and Gaborik skating. A defender is going to have to yank them when they get passed, and then it's a power play.

3) Well, #3 is the whole point of the post. The Rangers are beating up on lesser teams. And to be honest, of the 8 games, only 3 are from teams who won't make the playoffs (Leafs twice, Senators once). The Penguins and Capitals and Ducks are going to be in the playoffs, and the Devils and Kings have good chances of it.

But what happened when they played those non-playoff teams? They pounced. And that's what good teams do.

Quick Hits

Just a couple of quick thoughts...

 - As stated in the post directly below this one, we were on the radio today and it was a blast. We ended up talking hockey for about two hours and (hopefully) a fun time was had by all. The show isn't available for download yet, but once it is, we'll be posting a link here. Thanks again to Anthony at the 3rd String Safety for having us.

 - Tonight's action featured two four-point games with the local teams. The Rangers beat Buffalo 5-3, which is a huge, huge win for the Blueshirts. The Rangers now have an eight-point lead on Buffalo, essentially meaning that the Rangers only have to beat out Florida for the final playoff spot, but that's just the beginning. Since Montreal lost tonight, the Rangers have a three-point cushion in the 7th spot; furthermore, they're only two points out of 4th place and the home-ice advantage that comes with it. Sure, Carolina and Pittsburgh sit between the Rangers and 4th place Philadelphia, but the Rangers have games in hand over both the Hurricanes and Penguins. Long story short, things are looking good for the Rangers.

 - The other 4-point game tonight would be the Islanders playing Ottawa in a game with some draft implications for the Islanders. Ottawa's pretty much out of the running for the first overall pick, but one win could change all that. Well, after Ottawa destroyed the Islanders 5-2 tonight, the Senators are no longer in the picture. While I can't stomach hearing Islanders fans proclaiming their joy after such an outcome, there was one positive - Josh Bailey had his first two-goal game. That brings his total for the year up to a robust five goals. Yes, Bailey scored 40% of his season's output tonight. It's worth noting that for all of the Islanders' great play of late, much of it has been at home; the Isles are now a horrendous 8-26-3 on the road on the year. One last thing - if we can agree that Buffalo can't catch the Rangers because they're eight points back, the same can be said for Atlanta and Colorado, each of whom are eight points ahead of the Islanders right now. The only team closer to the Isles is the 61-point Tampa Bay Lightning, who are five up on the Islanders. So it's eminently possible that the Islanders will get their 48.2% chance at John Tavares after all.

 - I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the wacky scheduling of this weekend. Last night, the Islanders played a 7 PM game in Carolina. They then had to fly overnight to Ottawa in order to play tonight at 7 PM. Ottawa, in turn, will fly to New York to play the Rangers at 7 PM tomorrow night. You may recall the same type of thing happened a month or so ago when the Islanders played Toronto on the road, only to have both teams fly home simultaneously so the Leafs could play the Rangers at the Garden the next night. And not for nothing, but only the Islanders would get stuck flying some 1,500-plus miles overnight to play a Canadian team. I'm pretty sure the important teams, such as the Penguins, Capitals and Rangers all would get the luxury of a good night's sleep in this scenario.

 - I'm heading to "Arena At Harbor Yard" tomorrow to watch the Bridgeport Sound Tigers face the Portland Pirates, the AHL affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. Should be a fun day. It's Jeff Tambellini Bobblehead Day, so feel free to make your own Tambellini joke (and after tonight's game, feel free to make a crack about his breakaway skills). In any event, we'll have a report of the arena, the team, and the general minor-league experience sometime soon.

Hockey on the Radio...

Well, it's no ESPN, but hockey WILL be on the radio Saturday afternoon. Bryan and I will be on C.W. Post's sports radio show from 12 noon until 1:30 discussing hockey with Tony from Third String Safety. He admittedly has very little knowledge of hockey, but he's willing to learn. He runs a very good site with his partner, com Jason, as well. It is to UFC and the NFL what this site is to the Islanders and Rangers.

It broadcasts live at WCWPSports.com and YouCastr.com. After the show, there will be a link on this page so you can download the program if you'd like to.

Among the topics that will be discussed: Our probably horrendously-wrong preseason predictions; our thoughts on who should be nominated for the Vezina, Calder, and Norris trophies (who will get nominated is a completely different story); Bryan on his ever-widening love affair of Steve Mason; a Rangers-Sabres preview including how they've been doing since Scott Gomez injured Ryan Miller; an Islanders-Senators preview; the difference in rebuilding teams (like Phoenix) and bad teams (like Colorado); and we'll try to dissect the tight playoff races in the East and West.

Meet Dean McAmmond...

Last year, the Islanders made a huge mistake in not trading all of their potential free agents - Miroslav Satan, Ruslan Fedotenko, and Mike Comrie, to be specific. It turned out not to be a big deal with Comrie, because he re-signed on the Island and played this year as well. Satan and Fedotenko were big mistakes. GM Garth Snow needed to realize his team was going to miss the playoffs and he had to sell off the assets.

This year, with injuries to Doug Weight and Mike Sillinger, the "tradeable veteran" pool has quickly dried up. In fact, with Mike Comrie getting traded today, Bill Guerin and Andy Hilbert are the only real names left on that list.

I assume Comrie was traded so early because there was a chance he gets hurt like Weight did (Comrie was already hurt this year a couple of times) and brings his trade-value to Zero.

It should also be noted that Ottawa was the first team to go buying last year, when they were in a slump and make a trade for Cory Stillman from Carolina. This year, Ottawa, on the heels of a 5-game winning steak, thinks they have a shot at the playoffs, so they moved quickly again.

This trade isn't great for the Islanders, to be honest. San Jose's 1st round pick will be bottom 5 (somewhere between 26-30) probably. Yes, Mike Green was picked there, and it's still a nice bargaining chip if they want to trade it on Draft Day to move up, but if I was Garth Snow, I'd have wanted Ottawa's pick instead (I don't know if Ottawa still has it).

I think they could've gotten a 1st round for just Comrie and not have to have given up Chris Campoli also. Granted, that was probably a big sticking point for the Senators, because Comrie won't re-sign there next year (or at least there is a chance he won't) while Campoli is obligated to Ottawa through at least next season as well.

Dean McAmmond is a servicable player. That's my way of saying he isn't bad, he isn't great, but he goes out there and delivers his best every shift. It just so happens his "best" isn't very good anymore - as in 3G, 4A in 44 games, compared to 51 in 73 in 2002. He also has an injury problem, never playing a full season besides the strike-shortened 1994-95 season (81 in 2007 with Ottawa is his most, then 78, 77, 73, and then in the 60s... very poor numbers over a 14-year career). He was hurt during the 2003-04 season with Calgary and didn't play in their run to the Cup Finals that year.

Anyway, I'm not going to sit here and berate the Islanders. They made the move they had to while the iron was hot. Comrie's been playing real well and there is a chance he gets hurt again, a chance Snow couldn't take. I just wish, for Islander fans' sake, that they had gotten a better draft choice and maybe one of Ottawa's few prospects instead of an aging vet with a history of injuries and declining stats.

Rangers Blank Senators...

Can I tell you how relieved I am that the Ottawa Senators weren't wearing those atrocious jerseys that say "SENS" in big letters across the front? (The jersey is a second-cousin of the "BOLTS" jersey in the hockey hotbed of Tampa Bay, and hopefully their family doesn't grow to include an "ISLES" jersey in Uniondale.)

Ottawa played woeful as their record (1-6-1 on an 8-game road trip, now 2-7-1 in their last 10) indicates. What happened to this team? No defense is one, I assume, but the big guns aren't playing well. Daniel Alfredsson was called out by his coach after their loss in Boston the other night. Dany Heatley has done nothing lately except earning an unearned spot on the All-Star team, and Jason Spezza threw the puck out of the zone and down the ice with 2 minutes left in the game and the team down two goals.

It was said today that Dmitri Kalinin is now a +6 in his last 8 games. While he is now an impressive -10, let it be known that Dave Maloney said this about him during a broadcast last week (and I'm paraphrasing since it was a week ago): Kalinin is having another good game for him. He'll never play mistake-free hockey, but he has been better as of late.

I love how Steve Valiquette stepped in against Buffalo and played a great game. I was nervous to have him in after he got bombed on with 5 straight goals against Toronto a few months ago, and I think Tom Renney was also because he didn't play for a long time after that. However, when called upon every other time, he has played nearly lights out.

Two shutouts for Lundqvist in 3 games is good form, and I'm glad he got the first out of the way, much like Brandon Dubinsky's goal will hopefully knock down the dam and more can come.

This blog lobbied for Petr Prucha from the beginning of the season, and I'm glad to see that crow is not on my dinner plate for tomorrow. He has 5 points in the 6 games since he's been back in the lineup. Oddly enough, the one game in which he was blanked (Friday vs. Buffalo) was the one in which he played the most, getting 17:23 in ice time. Words can't express how happy I am to see him playing well.

I don't know if they still put missing people on milk cartons anywhere except in cartoons, but if they do, can someone put a picture of Scott Gomez on one for me?

* * *

Brendan Shanahan, a Devil? What's next, they re-sign Brian Rolston and Bobby Holik? Exactly. This in no way shores up the Devils team, even if people say he is a "born leader" and a "locker room presence". Did the leadership and playoff experience of Shanahan, Jaromir Jagr, Chris Drury, and Gomez get the Rangers anything except an early playoff exit last year?

Shanahan had nothing left in the tank as of mid-January 2008. He was hurt in his knee and his back, he was slowing down, and he brought nothing to the table. I hate to say that because he is a legend and was a great guy in New York, but he was just a waste of ice time at the end of last season, and unless a great cure for old age and creaky bones was discovered in late-2008, then I'm afraid it's more of the same.

Glen Sather Should Read This Blog...

Here's what I wrote about Wade Redden in June 2008, when he technically was still under contract to the Ottawa Senators...

June 27 - "Don't be duped by him."

June 30 - "Wade Redden was bad at 31. How bad is he going to be at 35?"

And in July...

July 1 - "A history of injury? A poor work ethic? Oh but don't worry, he had one point in the playoffs last year. This is disgusting. It's an insult to the fans. You know ticket prices are going up again this year. This is why. So a player who doesn't want to work can make his guaranteed money."

"I declare this the worst day to be a Ranger fan since Brian Leetch was traded."

Before and during the free agent period, me and my Islanders-counterpart Bryan spoke about how bad Redden was. Yes, I also lamented the Michal Rozsival signing as well, but 1) he isn't making as much money as Redden and 2) we all knew Rozsival was bad, but some fans (and apparently Sather) thought Redden was good based on past performances.

When bloggers and beat reporters are begging for a 24-year-old rookie (Corey Potter) to stay in the lineup so that Redden can take a seat, I think it's fair to say he is a bust, and he will never be a good player in New York. People can tell me that it's only half-of-a-season, but really, do you want to see how bad he can become in the next 5 and a half seasons?

Of course, that would mean Sather would have to admit to making a mistake. However, as past examples Jamie Lundmark and Hugh Jessiman taught us, it takes him a minimum of four years for Sather to admit he erred.

A Lackluster Weekend...

Nobody has written on our blog since Thursday, when Bryan typed about optimistically venturing the following day into Newark to drink beer and boo Zach Parise.

It is now technically Monday morning (although I will still consider it Sunday until I go to bed or see the sun). I almost posted on Friday that if the Islanders beat the Devils, then the Ottawa Senators would be the worst team in the East.

Since then, the Rangers technically showed up for a game in Ottawa, although I don't know how much of a presence really they had if they were outshot 14-0 for the first 13 minutes of the game. Yes. 14-0. Although I guess it is hard to generate shots off the rush when you are shorthanded 3 times in the first 6 minutes. To be honest, they never stood a chance in the game, and it's not because this is the same Ottawa team that used to pick apart the Rangers and Islanders in years past. The Rangers never stood a chance because they took themselves out of the game by taking lazy penalties, not hustling, not getting traffic to the net, and not caring.

Since then, the Islanders lost ground in the Hummer Metro Ice challenge, aka the battle-of-the-backup-goaltenders when Scott Clemmensen beat Joey Mac. In Backup Bowl II, they happened to beat Patrick Lalime and his Buffalo Sabres. Brian Boucher, Johan "The Moose" Hedberg, and Ty Conklin were watching intently.

Since the Islanders won Saturday, I have no good way to end this post. If they lost, I would've said, "Let's hope next weekend's recap isn't as half-hearted and depressing as our collective heroes were this weekend." Well, 2 out of 3 ain't bad. (Does that make sense?)

Channel 11 News...

Apologies to Bryan for posting right after him, but I have something quick I need to saw.

I know that nobody really watches network news for sports scores in this age of the Internet, 4 ESPN channels, and a bunch of other local sports channels that have scrolling scores constantly on the bottom.

That said, someone in my house was watching Channel 11's nightly news, and they said, "Coming up: We know who the NL MVP is, more on the Giants steamrolling the Ravens, and the Rangers and Islanders both in action!"

We come back from break. They lead with a 90 second story on the National League MVP (that's baseball, by the way) and why it was wrong and who really should've won it. Then, they do a 90 second story on the Giants game from yesterday that was analyzed to death all of last night and probably most of today.

Then, we get a sort 10 second clip of Henrik Lundqvist making the final save in tonight's shootout win over Ottawa, and he says, "And the Islanders hosted Vancouver and won in a shootout, also."

End of newscast.

So to recap... a long story on two teams who aren't from New York who play a boring sport that ended 2 weeks ago. Then a story on a game from last night (which I'm fine with, football is now America's sport and it was a big game for a great team). Then, a clip of a save, a celebratory stick-in-the-arm-and-gloved-fist-pump, and a quick sentence on another game that also went on today.

I know hockey isn't big here. I'm not oblivious. But how is the sport supposed to grow when a St. Louis Cardinal gets 45 times more airtime than Long Island's only sports team and 9 times more play than the 2nd best team in the NHL who also happen to play in NY?

Just makes me mad. Quick! Someone contact Neil Best!

* * *

And a quick aside to what Bryan said about me liking defensive hockey: I think great defensive hockey is incredibly enjoyable. Great saves, shot blocking, aggressive backchecking, up and down, back and forth hockey with breakouts and breakaways. However, neutral-zone trap hockey is horrific.

Preseason!...

I don't care that the Rangers lost today. It's only preseason, and as we all know (or maybe some don't), the Giants, Patriots, and Colts all went 1-3 in preseason before winning the Super Bowl that year.

But I've never been quite so excited to see a preseason game played as I was today. It's been a while since the Rangers played hockey, just over 4 months, and they have a lot of redemption to do this year. It was a welcomed sight to see a bunch of white jerseys on the television today. It almost makes me wish I didn't sell my tickets to Monday's game at the Garden against the Senators.

It's going to be a good year, regardless of where our New York Rangers end up.

* * * 

A hearty farewell goes out to the world's biggest Brian Leetch fan, John Dellapina, who covered the Rangers for the Daily News (and was, subsequently, the only good part of that newspaper) since the 1994-95 season.

We never like to link to other blogs much at this site, but I must say, his goodbye blog is worth reading from a sports perspective. While many journalists like to hide their allegiance, Dellapina never wavered in being a Rangers fan, even during their playoff-less years. He had his dream job when he got to travel with and cover the Rangers, and he never pretended he wasn't less than thrilled to do it.

A good article from a good fan.

Shots, Stats, And Chokes

I barely watched any hockey tonight. You don't want to know what I was doing. Seriously. I'd rather watch "The Trap - The Very Best Of The New Jersey Devils" ten times in a row than relive this evening. And no, that DVD doesn't exist... thank the Lord.

A couple more quick thoughts...

- WTF is up with teams not shooting the puck in the playoffs? Calgary managed ten shots in front of their home crowd. Despite getting blown out in two straight, Anaheim fired fifteen shots on Marty Turco last night; had they not won the game, they'd be getting killed in the papers right now. The same applies to Nashville and their fourteen shots tonight.

I don't get it. You don't shoot, you don't score. Haven't we all heard a million times about how good things happen when you put the puck on net? And how many goals end up being these perfect shots anyway? I'd say at least one-third of all goals scored are off rebounds or deflections, or are somehow modified from the shooter's original intentions. So why not just shoot the puck and see what happens?

- Ottawa. I've been dying to say this for a very long time, but I didn't want to jinx it. Ottawa's nosedive this season is worse than the Mets' collapse last September. All the crap I've heard about The Collapse, as it's now known, should be thrown at Ottawa at least three times as hard.

That Ottawa got into the playoffs is completely irrelevant. Showing up and immediately folding doesn't mean anything. Going back to The Collapse, it didn't matter that Philadelphia overtook the Mets because they got killed in three straight by Colorado - and the Mets would have gotten beaten just as badly. Ottawa doesn't deserve special treatment just for getting in. Two of the games were close enough that the Senators pulled their goalie at the end (both times, Pittsburgh scored empty-net goals), but the other two were blowouts. And if not for Martin Gerber, the series would have been a complete blowout. Five goals in four games isn't going to get it done - and, by the way, Ottawa was just one goal behind Montreal for tops in the league in goals scored during the regular season.

Looks like, at the very least, Bryan "The Lisp" Murray will be looking for a new job this summer. Here's hoping he gets a job with Versus, TSN, or the NHL Network. But it's likely Murray won't be the only one. However, since Ottawa put so much money into signing Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley to extensions this year, how much room are they going to have for free agents? This situation is going to get worse before it gets better.

- Ottawa was kind enough to bow out in 4 games, which means I'm 1-for-1 in predicting finished series. I know I can't have a perfect first round because San Jose-Calgary is going to go at least six games (I had the Sharks in 5), but the other six matchups are up for grabs.

As for Zach, his prediction of Ottawa over Pittsburgh in 7 games didn't exactly pan out. It happens. He also can't get Detroit in 5 or the Sharks in 5. However, a Canadiens win tomorrow gives him a correct prediction in that series. Unfortunately, we don't have access to the predictions made by Sam, Joe, or GiaWigs. Maybe next year.

NHL Playoffs, Day 1: Unbiased Thoughts

Finally, the second season has begun. And even the hockey haters at ESPN have taken notice... sort of. Next to the humongous ad for The Masters (which just happens to be on ESPN for the first time this year), a tiny box appears with links to tonight's scores. Better than nothing, I guess.

Anyway, these are unbiased thoughts. Why? Because apart from my desire for the Devils to fall flat on their faces as soon as possible, I'm watching these playoffs as a neutral observer. Honestly, it's more fun this way... though I suspect an Islanders playoff run might be more enjoyable. I also suspect I won't be finding out anytime soon.

Let's take a trip through the games. At every arena, an NHL logo appears behind each goal and the Stanley Cup Playoffs logo is just inside of both blue lines, where we saw "Thank You Fans!" just two years ago. I guess this is clarification for those fans who thought they were watching the Super Bowl. Away we go...

- Rangers 4, Devils 1. I got to see all of this game. While it wasn't pure, beautiful playoff hockey, it was entertaining to watch. And I was very impressed with this Rangers team.

Once they settled in, the Rangers played a very smart game. They did everything they needed to do. They were physical, but not overly tough like the Devils tried to be. They were aggressive on special teams - both on the powerplay and shorthanded. Most of all, though, it seemed apparent that the Rangers just wanted it more.

On the Devils' first power play, the Rangers had four shorthanded shots, while the Devils didn't get a single shot on goal with the man advantage. That was a sign of things to come. Sean Avery and Scott Gomez were literally all over the ice. Martin Straka, of all people, lost his stick on a penalty kill and was flopping all over the ice to block the puck. That the Devils scored their only goal seconds later doesn't take away the effort, which was there all night.

Devils fans are going to say the Rangers got lucky tonight, and they have a pretty good argument. The Devils hit the crossbar three times. The Rangers' second goal was scored because Martin Brodeur was too busy counting sheep to cover up the puck when Ryan Callahan came charging in. The third goal bounced off Sergei Brylin's skate and to Sean Avery, who just happened to be crashing the net at the right time. It also didn't hurt that Gomez blew right by four Devils, all of whom just waved at Gomez instead of trying to stop him. In the end, you make your own luck, and the Rangers got themselves into a position to take advantage of the lucky breaks they received. The Devils can't say the same.

If I were a Devils fan - and I'm not, thank goodness - I'd be embarrassed. The breakdown of The Rock tonight was at least 50-50, and if the fans favored one side over the other, the Rangers had more supporters. The Devils didn't show up in their first home playoff game in their new arena. There's no excuse for that. They will probably put forth a better show on Friday, but is it going to be enough to trump a motivated and inspired Rangers team? That's a tough one.

- Penguins 4, Senators 0. Thanks to a solid effort by the Mets, I didn't have to check in on their game, which meant I could focus my attention on this game. Versus HD had been screwy during the first two periods, so I couldn't check in very often. Of course, by the time I got to this game, it was already over.

However, I did get to see Ottawa's failed attempts at flexing its "muscle". First, one of the Senators (maybe Wade Redden) dumped Crosby in the corner. The Senator went down... Crosby emerged with the puck. After the whistle, Crosby and this unidentified Senator were throwing haymakers with their gloves on. Seconds later, Ryan Whitney absolutely pummelled Redden (yes, it was definitely him) in a mismatch. Three minutes later, Gary Roberts dumped Chris Neil into the boards. Now, we all know Roberts is no stranger to drilling opposing players head-first into the boards (remember Kenny Jonsson?), but Neil is an abhorrent player. Roberts got a fighting major and a game misconduct by the time the ensuing scrap ended, but he was yapping all the way off the ice. Ottawa tried its best to intimidate Pittsburgh physically... and it didn't work. Let the record state - Pittsburgh owns Ottawa in every way.

Oh, and Marc-Andre Fleury got the shutout.

- Avalanche 2, Wild 0 (2nd intermission). This game wasn't even advertised on the channel information for Center Ice - not exactly a ringing endorsement. This is a unique series - and by "unique", I mean that I'm curious to see how it plays out, but I don't actually want to watch any of it. Admittedly, I've seen very little of this game, but I'm not too curious to watch any more of it. Maybe it's because it's not available in HD and the first two games were. I think I'm just inclined to avoid the Wild because Jacques Lemaire coaches them. Lemaire is wearing a pretty nice suit tonight, though - he looks like the Russian politician guy in Rocky IV.

- Flames 2, Sharks 1 (1st intermission). Now this is a game I can sink my teeth into. The Sharks have been one of my favorite teams to watch all year, and the Flames are a good match-up for them. Unfortunately, we don't get the excellent Sharks broadcast on CSN, but instead we're stuck with the CBC feed. Oh well.

It didn't take long for this game to get going. Calgary scored first on a deflection, then scored a second shortly after. Within ten minutes of the opening faceoff, the Sharks had pulled within one. The Sharks seem to have controlled play for the most part, but Calgary isn't out of any game with Mikka Kiprusoff in goal. They're not going to be intimidated by the Sharks - that's one thing Mike Keenan will always give you.

Of all the games we've seen tonight, this is the one game that has a chance of coming down to the wire. This looks like a fun one. You sort of wish Calgary had more offensive firepower so we could see a real barnburner, but this game is going to be all sorts of intense as it progresses.

Maybe this hasn't been the greatest night of playoff hockey we've ever seen. But I sure am glad the playoffs are here. Who knows what the rest of tonight has in store for us?

Playoff Prognostications - Volume I

With the Isles' hopes looking dimmer than ever - the team's prayers rest on the shoulders of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers - now is an appropriate time to look at the rest of the league. Who's going to win the Cup this year? Who's for real? Who's going to choke in the first round?

Glad you asked.

Thanks to the wonders that are Center Ice and the NHL Network, I'm better equipped than ever to answer these questions. Let's face it - the league is kind of hard to follow. It's not easy to keep up on all the goings-on in the NHL, particularly out West, where we might see one game a week if we're lucky. Sometimes, the standings don't tell the whole story. Not that I'll be able to fill in the blanks or anything, but it's fun to speculate.

We all know what wins in the playoffs. Great goaltending. A favorable schedule. Balance between scorers and role players. These are the things that have traditionally separated the great from the good and, while we don't know everything about the Cup contenders yet, we have a much better idea than we did before the trade deadline.

With that in mind, let's look at who's out there and what their chances are at hoisting the Cup in June. These are just guesses as to what could happen, so don't take the predictions too seriously.

Eastern Conference
1. New Jersey (71 GP, 88 points). The Devils always seem to have the same type of season every year - they're right at the top of the conference, they fire their coach right before the playoffs, then they crap out in the first two rounds. To me, the Devils are a better version of the Islanders. Their main strength is the goaltending, but they can't always score the goals they need to win every night. The Devils have the second-worst power play in the East (guess who has the worst). That won't cut it in the playoffs.
Prediction: Second-round exit

2. Ottawa (72 GP, 87 points). Ottawa has been pretty much horrendous since the first quarter of the season ended. They're truly befuddling. You look at this team and think all the pieces are in place. Nobody in the East can match their personnel. They've got every kind of player you could possibly want, and the Big Three are obviously beyond compare. The only problem - and it's a huge problem - is their goaltending. As good as Martin Gerber has been this year, do you really trust him in a big game? When the alternative is Ray "Sorry I'm Late" Emery, you could be in trouble. Not to say they can't make a run, but they seem a good candidate to fall short.
Prediction: Conference finals exit

4. Pittsburgh (71 GP, 87 points). The wet dream of every NBC and NHL executive is for Pittsburgh to make a deep playoff run. Unfortunately, it's not going to happen. Call it instinct more than anything. There are two things working against Pittsburgh here; believe it or not, neither of them are named Ty Conklin. Their biggest concern is Sidney Crosby and his continuing health problems. Ask anybody who's ever played fantasy football - high ankle sprains linger for a very long time. Not only do you have a player whose health can't be relied upon, but also a player who will mess with Pittsburgh's line combinations and gameplans. He won't be as big a distraction as Eric Lindros in 2000, but he won't have a seamless transition into the lineup. Their second issue is that they haven't had one of those gut-wrenching, character-building playoff losses yet. This is an extremely young team, one that doesn't know what it takes to win it all. It's a shame, too, because their opportunity window will never be higher than it is with Marian Hossa in the lineup. But this isn't their year. If you're looking for a big-ticket upset in the first round, look no further than the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Prediction: First-round exit

5. Montreal (72 GP, 87 points). On the other hand, if you're looking for a Cinderella team, Montreal could very well be who you'd want to go with. If the Stanley Cup is going to come back to the East, it'll either be Ottawa or Montreal. No other team even comes close to being able to compete with the West offensively. Everyone knows Montreal can score and that they have a ridiculous power play, but they're also pretty underrated defensively. And Carey Price seems like he has what it takes to make The Leap in these playoffs. More than anything, what a team needs to advance is a hot goalie, and Price seems like he's up to the task. He's going to need it - Montreal plays six of its remaining ten games against Boston, Ottawa, and Buffalo. Odds are good they won't receive a favorable seed. Price is going to need to be huge early and often... but the Habs are for real, and this could be their year.
Prediction: Stanley Cup Finals

6. NY Rangers (71 GP, 83 points). The Rangers have performed significantly under expectations for much of this season; however, they seem to have found their legs for the stretch run. Good timing. As Zach said the other day, the Rangers will go as far as their seeding will take them. They're currently sixth, which is great, but should they slip any further than that, they could be in trouble. Hell, even if they move up, they could still end up playing the Canadiens or Penguins. It's tough to say what to expect for the Blueshirts in the playoffs, especially because Henrik Lundqvist has been extremely human over the second half. Still, this Rangers team has enough firepower to win at least one round, but a deep playoff run might be out of the question at this point in time.
Prediction: Second-round exit

Sleeper: Buffalo (9th in East, 72 GP, 77 points). No, the Sabres aren't going back to the conference finals. But they could make life very difficult for anyone they play in the first two rounds. Ryan Miller is capable of stealing a game if he has to, while their offense hangs 7's and 8's on other teams seemingly once per week. If they get in - and that depends largely on getting back the half of their team that's injured - they're going to stretch at least one series to seven games.

Western Conference
1. Detroit (71 GP, 100 points). For much of the season, Detroit has been the league's best team by a long shot. They gave us a bit of a scare in February, including a stretch where they earned just four out of a possible 24 points, but it looks like they're back now. After winning their last five straight, they're ten points ahead of San Jose, and that's including their horrid February. Not bad, eh? On paper, it's hard to take the goaltending tandem of Chris Osgood and Dominik Hasek seriously, but they've been great so far. Will they finally be exposed in the playoffs? Not in the first round, anyway. But Detroit has to be careful not to get too complacent - aside from one game against Colorado, all of their remaining games are against non-playoff teams (though three are against Nashville, just two points out). The Wings would be smart to not do anything stupid, like rest all their players once they lock up the President's Trophy - we've learned countless times in the NFL that it never works. Detroit is certainly beatable... I just can't think of any team who can beat them four times out of seven.
Prediction: Stanley Cup Finals

2. San Jose (70 GP, 90 points). I'm watching the Sharks on Center Ice as I write this, and they're just toying with St. Louis. Just 13 minutes into the game, they were up 4-0. The Sharks make me wish I lived out West; they're easily my favorite Western team to watch. The problem with the Sharks has nothing to do with their talent, or their goaltending, or anything else. Sure, they're a step behind Detroit, but they could certainly give the Wings a run for their money. The real issue is that they may have already peaked. Assuming they polish off the Blues, that'll be eleven straight wins. As we all know, it's most important to be at your best in April and May than it is to be unstoppable in February and March. I'm extremely high on this Sharks team... right now. I just get the feeling we're seeing their best hockey right now and they'll be ripe for an upset in the playoffs.
Prediction: Second-round exit

4. Dallas (73 GP, 89 points). A lot of people are loving Dallas and spouting off their Stanley Cup qualifications, but I'm not seeing it. I haven't seen a ton of Dallas this year, but I don't see what makes them better than any of the other West contenders. Brad Richards doesn't put this team over the top in my eyes; a healthy Sergei Zubov will do more for the Stars than Richards down the stretch. What it comes down to for Dallas is Marty Turco. He was awesome last year in the playoffs, but he'll have to show it wasn't a fluke. Dallas could very easily draw a team like Anaheim in the first round, and in that case, Turco is going to have to steal it for Dallas to advance. Call me crazy, but I don't see it happening.
Prediction: First-round exit

5. Anaheim (73 GP, 88 points). It's been a tale of two seasons for the Ducks - they were awful before Scott Niedermayer came back, and they've been good since he returned. Now that Teemu Selanne is back and playing to his highest capabilities, the team is getting ready to peak in the playoffs. The Ducks would do very well to secure home-ice advantage for at least one round; while they're under .500 on the road, they've got the best home record in the league. It never hurts to play at home, even under the worst of circumstances, let alone when you've only lost eight regulation games there. While the Ducks have plenty of guys who can score, they're also an above-average team on defense... and, as the cliche says, defense wins championships. However, if Chris Prongers ends up missing significant time due to suspension, they could be in trouble.
Prediction: Conference finals exit

Sleeper: Calgary (7th in West, 71 GP, 82 points). Phoenix is one of the most fun teams to watch in the West, and Nashville might be a better team, but Calgary is the one team that can make something of a run. They've been there before, they have a goalie very capable of getting hot, and Mike Keenan can convince this team that they can do the impossible. They're not going to beat a Detroit or anything, but if they end up meeting Dallas or Colorado... don't say you weren't warned.